Kevin Durant nears return from injury; pictured splashing post-up fadeaways

The case of Kevin Durant has been a distressing one in Brooklyn this season. The 4-time scoring champion and 2-time NBA Finals MVP has not kitted up for the Nets this season after rupturing his Achilles tendon in Game 5 of the NBA Finals last season. There was some good news for Nets fans on the 'Kevin Durant injury' front. The former Warriors star was pictured training at the Nets' gym this week. 

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Kevin Durant injury update: Nets star nears return after Achilles surgery

Kevin Durant was seen practising his post-up fadeaways at the Nets' gym earlier this week. Nets reporter Kristian Winfield said that Kevin Durant looked in good shape. He also added, "The court was empty and dead silent other than three distinct sounds: the squeaks of Durant’s sneakers, the echo of the ball bouncing off the court and the unmistakable sound of a ball swishing through the net."

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Kevin Durant injury: Nets coach Kenny Atkinson rules out rushing Durant back

The Nets are currently 8th in the NBA's Eastern Conference standings with an 18-25 record. However, the Nets have picked up those 18 wins with a number of major injuries. Kyrie Irving missed 26 games this season, courtesy of a shoulder injury. Kevin Durant has also not featured for the whole of the season. Speaking to the media this week, Kenny Atkinson said that the Nets are highly unlikely to field Kevin Durant this season. “I will say he’s progressing fantastically,” Atkinson said. “Talking to him, talking to the performance team, came in and watched him yesterday do his exercises. You guys can probably see he’s moving a lot better, moving a lot more. I don’t want to get ahead of myself and get people mad at me for giving you more than that.”

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Nets' Spencer Dinwiddie also echoed similar thoughts after the Nets' practice session earlier this week. “If you look at it, we have a quote-unquote Big 3, right? Those Big 3 through 41 games, could’ve played a grand total of what? 123 games? Right? They’ve probably played like 40. And we’re still in the playoffs."

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When does Kevin Durant return?

Going by Kenny Atkinson's words, few hopes will be pinned on Kevin Durant making a return to action this season. Despite that fact, there will be a silver lining for Nets fans. As Spencer Dinwiddie said, the Nets could very well push on from this season after Kyrie Irving gets the support of Kevin Durant next season. They could, quite possibly, also add to their roster in the off-season.